Spider-Man's Christmas Special
by Quinhwyvar
Summary: "I didn't think we would see you out tonight," the officer said. Peter shrugged. "You know, if you're working then I'm working. I can't have you making me look bad sir." *** In which things could have been worse. Spider-Man meets a kid and performs bad magic tricks. It's snowy and Christmas.


The snow fell heavily onto the car crash and the surrounding ambulances.

The white flakes didn't stay pure as they drifted through the air, going red and blue in the lights, before turning to a classic New York City gray in the slush. The two crashed cars were inseparable now, the black one cleaving directly through the side of the red one.

It could have been worse. That's what Peter told himself as he stood watching the snow cover the cars' hoods. Strands of his webbing hung off the black car and floated in the breeze. Snowflakes stuck to them.

It could have been much worse. He told himself that when something went bad but not enough for him to worry about Mr. Stark finding out.

"I didn't think we would see you out tonight." An officer came up beside him and Peter watched his breath turn into puffs in the cold. "MODIN" was printed on his jacket. Peter had stood by, just in case, after he had helped drag the driver and passengers from the two vehicles.

Now he had been standing watching the snow for no reason. Too much homework, too much webhead, not enough sleep. Well, that and the holidays.

As they had never mentioned to each other, it was there first holiday, just the two of them.

Maybe that's why he wasn't hurrying to get eggnog right then.

Or maybe not.

The jury was out on that one.

Peter snapped back to reality and shrugged. "You know, if you're working then I'm working. I can't have you making me look bad sir."

Modin's laugh was short. "Hilarious. This snow is terrible."

"It's a white Christmas." Peter looked at the wreckage. He had just been swinging past when he heard the brakes slide in the snow.

"My kids are thrilled about the snow," Modin said and then paused to stare at the crash, "these kids are just lucky."

Peter's eyes finally moved away from the cars and to the ambulance. Three ambulances had been but now there was one. The lenses focused and refocused as the lights of the police cars parked nearby, making traffic completely redirect.

The police officer stomped his feet. Snow fell off his shoulders. He continued. "The man in the black car was intoxicated so the paramedics gave him a once over and now he's on his way to us. The family in the red one is an unusual case. The mom was driving her kid's friend home. Mom's kid may have sustained a concussion so they're on the way to the hospital."

Peter nodded. It checked out. He ran through the people he saw and snagged on one face that was unaccounted for."What happened to the kid's friend?"

"Oh. He's fine. A bit shaken but warm in the back of that ambulance. We're just waiting for the legal guardian." He blew out his breath, smiling at the mist. "He seems to be a fan of yours. I'm not quite sure why."

"Come on. I make your job easier."

Modin's smile was loose. "We've got this. Go home to your family too." He was interrupted by the radio which buzzed a new code. 10-27. Karen helpfully translated that as the driver's information had been pulled. Modin nodded and turned away.

"Happy holidays!" Peter's voice was awkward and the man waved a hand as he walked off.

He could barely see the outline of a kid from the cracked open door of the ambulance. May was probably worried about him. Peter kicked off against the ground and jogged across the scene, the slush siding under his heels. He was thankful for the heated suit. Everyone was hunched up against the cold.

"Knock knock, a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man making the rounds?" He cautiously opened the ambulance door enough for him to peek his head in. The EMT looked up from where he was sitting on the cot with the kid. The child looked just like Peter had remembered, about five, black hair ruffled up because of the crash but now his face was red and puffy. The blue winter coat was next to him, revealing a Spider-Man logo on his t-shirt.

It was still odd to see. Stark Industries handled his branding. All he knew was that the money was getting put away into a saving account for later.

The kid snuffed at him disbelievingly. A plastic cup of water shook in his hand.

Peter climbed inside, the snow coming in behind him. His voice was a forced casual. "Hey, hey, hey. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." The kid whispered it so quietly that it was only because of the suit amplification and his own hearing that he caught the words.

"We're okay?" That question was asked to the EMT as he walked over.

"A bit of a shock and ready for some hot coco at home," he said as he got up, giving Peter room to move around. "Look whose come to visit you. Do you like Spider-Man?"

A small nod.

Peter crouched down in front of him, feeling himself pose a little under the kid's watery eyes. "You did great out there."

Another small nod and a snuff.

"I like your shirt there buddy." He rose and then sat next to the kid. Peter's toes barely touched the flooring. "I dunno why you have me on your shirt. I think that Iron man is pretty cool."

Big watery eyes looked up at him and in all seriousness, he said, "Webs."

"Spider-man…you don't have to." The EMT cut in. He was looking at the door.

"It's okay. I'll stick with him until his mom shows up. Webs huh? Look here, these are my webshooters." He rolled a wrist over to show the mechanism. "Would you press that button for me?"

There was a small black button under the main deployer. The kid looked between the device and Peter for a moment before he put his finger on the button. The finger was tiny and when Peter wrapped his left thumb around it to help him press, he realized the fragility of those little bones.

Together they pressed the manual flush and web hissed out in curly-cues. The button was for emergencies but who payed attention to that? It spooled out all over the cot, the floor and hazed onto their clothes. The little kid giggled as he tried to catch the web with his free hand. The standard web fluid caught on his fingers and hung off of them in sheets.

"It's so sticky!" The kid grinned as he let go of Peter's arm. The web stretched harmlessly between his hands. The fear that had been there had completely disappeared from his face.

"Check it out." Peter gathered some of the webbing and balled it up. "Like a snowball." He shouted and threw it at the far wall where it stuck to a cabinet. The kid giggled and tried to do the same but the webbing just stretched and tangled further.

"My gloves have a special coating." Peter leaned over and peeled the webbing off. It didn't take very long. He'd been getting good at detaching things, especially after he had accidentally stuck all his homework together when he'd been playing around with the mechanics. The white strands came off quickly and became another ball. He handed it back and the kid shouted and threw it, completely missing where the first web stuck.

That's when Peter noticed that the EMT was leaning against the far wall, arms crossed and giving a glare that almost rivaled Tony's. Peter cringed. There was webbing everywhere inside now.

"Sorry! It'll evaporate in a few hours. I promise."

Before the EMT could respond, the kid grabbed his arm again. "Let's get some more. We can have a snowball fight!"

"No, no, no, not a good idea." Peter was half pulled down before he sat back up. He needed something else before the he started to get upset. He looked around but it was an ambulance, nothing was particularly amusing. He needed another distraction. He turned to the little kid and openly snatched at his nose, brushing it lightly.

"I bet you didn't know that spiders can steal noses."

"What?" His eyes went wide and he clutched at his face. Then the goonish grin came back as he realized what was still attached to his face. "No, you can't."

"Wha..?" He leaned forward and pinched his noise. "I swear that I got it. Yours must be really stuck on there."

"Stappph." The grin was even bigger.

He gave it one final tug before letting his fingers slip free. "That is a theft proof nose. No worries there."

The EMT's radio buzzed and he listened to it. "I'll be back. Stay out of trouble."

He slipped out the door.

"Can we do something fun?" He scooted closer, the blanket that he was wearing falling from his shoulders.

"What?" Peter whispered.

"Upside down high five."

"Okay. I'll stick to the ceiling and then we high five, right?" He figured that the ambulance ceiling would hold his weight. This would be easy.

"No. I want to be upside down."

"Oh. Of course."

It took quite a few minutes to get the kid rigged up by his feet onto the ceiling.

Peter stayed underneath him the entire time. The web wouldn't break. This was the same stuff that had held an eighteen wheeler back from crashing onto a highway going forty miles an hour. Yet, the child seemed more likely the fall. Karen told him that he was perfectly safe but the damage seemed impending.

The kid's face started to go red and his arms flopped uselessly below his his head.

"Ready?" Peter asked the upside down face.

"Ready."

The kid put out his hand and Spider-Man high fived him. The sound of the slap echoed in car.

"Yes!" the kid shouted, throwing his hands around wildly and swinging on the web. It spun him right and left. "That was amazing! I've always wanted to do that!"

"We did it!" Spider-man yelled back. It was so silly. Of all the things that the kid would want to do. The kid continued to celebrate as Peter jumped to the ceiling to cut him down. Pulling the little knife his belt, he grasped the webs in one and cut them off the ceiling with the other.

The webs dropped a little as he took the weight. The kid yelped as he fell the inch.

"Don't drop me please Mr. Spider-Man, please." He waved trying to look up.

The guilt was a strange sickening in his stomach. He was supposed to amuse the kid, not scare him.

"No, no, no, I've got you, it's okay," Peter said and quickly he drew the struggling kid up, grasping an ankle, a knee, belt buckle and then flipped the kid over to hold him by his armpits. "See? You are okay."

Tears were on his cheeks.

"Totally fine." Peter stretched, getting on his toes to gently place the kid on his feet on the ground. The kid's nose rose as he started to snuffle.

"Here," Spider-Man offered his flat hand. "Let's do it the other way."

All he got were watery eyes. "That was scary."

"A double?" He offered both hands.

The kid looked at them and then gave him a halfhearted double high five. He swallowed and tried to step away but stumbled. His feet were still caught in the webbing. Peter dropped down.

"Let me get that off of you." He crouched down extra low. The little shoes were so close the ground that he felt his breath puff out of him as he stretched down. He was so dumb. All the extra webbing had been good when it had come to dangling the kid but now all of it was entangled.

"Did you know that I'm four and a half?" The question was off the wall. No context appeared to be needed to the four and a half year old.

He pulled some strands away from his shoes and tossed them. "I didn't know that. You must feel pretty old then."

"I'm ancient," he said frankly and then tried to walk away. Peter grabbed him before he could fall.

"Absolutely, one more minute little man," Peter said as he got closer to freeing the kid.

"I asked Santa for you this Christmas. Did he send you?"

"What do you mean by that?" That made Peter stop. His fingers rested against his shoes as he sat up. They were the same height.

"You were on my Christmas list. All the kids at school laughed at me and now you're here." The need in the brown eyes dug into him. The kid wanted it to be true so much that it was hurting him.

To be on someone's Christmas list. It was such a strange concept. This kid cared so much for him that he put in on his wish list. Tony had muttered something about the action figures not getting out in time. All of this was so alien.

Now he was with a little kid that had wanted to meet him for his holidays.

"Yeah buddy of course I am!" He said after a moment. The last couple strands floated away from the shoes. The kid ran forward forward and crashed hard against his chest sending him back into the floor. They thumped down together. He wrapped his arms around the kid.

Peter caught out of the side of his eye the state of the ambulance. The entire surface of the cabin was covered in webbing. He was pretty sure that the EMT was going lay an egg when he came back.

Not that it mattered as the kid hugged him even harder. The warmth and love that Peter felt almost pushed him over the edge. He pressed his hands into his back and the small face dug even deeper into his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas little guy," he whispered and pushed himself back up, arranging the kid on his lap. He kept clinging to him tightly but Peter was sure that the tears had completely disappeared. This time for real.

"Merry Christmas Spider-Man" was the muffled response.

A couple noises came from Peter's throat but none of them were proper words. This kid loved him not knowing anything about who he was or how the silences of today had dragged out too far. Instead Peter just held on tighter onto the tiny kid and wished that the moment wouldn't end.

Of course it had to.

It was only a few minutes after that when the kid's father came. It was a flurry of activity after that. A couple photos were taken. Peter signed a piece of paper. He got a heartful thank you. Peter throat was tight and dry as he watched the dad gather up the half asleep kid in his arms and disappear off in the snow.

Had that ever happened to him? He couldn't remember.

The cars were being towed when he left and after a few automatic waves and "Merry Christmases"es he was on his way. The snow blurred and melted as he swung home. The various colored lights in the windows he passed smeared into color. The world felt silent in his ears. It was just the hiss of his webs, the stretch of his weight going from one shoulder to the other and his thoughts.

It was a beautiful night but he barely noticed it as he crawled down to his bedroom window. He didn't bother stripping off the suit, just tossing the mask on his bed as he headed out. Aunt May was burning pizza in the oven singing along badly to Christmas music. Their TV showed the news although it was muted. He walked across and hugged May from behind.

"Peter!" May said evenly, "there you are. I was starting to think I was going to have to call the police or something."

"Thanks May," he said into her back.

She turned around in his grip, laughing. "What do you mean by that silly goose? And why are you dripping snow all over my newly clean tile?"

Peter looked at her, putting together different combinations of words in his head but nothing was right. The kid, the dad, the weather, the season, they were all messily in his head and all of that had incomprehensibly lead to this hug. All of it was on his face and he just shook his head, trying to clear it.

May's face soften, the humor disappearing into something closer to understanding. "Okay. Come here."

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. "You are okay."

"I'm okay."

She patted his head and he knew that she was almost right. The tension ticked down. His heart stopped beating so quickly. It felt right. It felt safer here.

She pushed him away. "Now get into some comfy clothes Spider-Man. I'm about to put in round two pizza and we need to get started on our annual viewing of Die Hard before it makes us stay up too late."

"Best Christmas movie." Habit forced him to respond. Something like a grin came over his face as he turned around.

"That's right." She sang back. "Don't forget to put that eggnog in the fridge. You did remember to buy it, right?"

"I'll…be right back."

"Peter!"

* * *

_Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!_

_This has been floating around in my mind for ages. Once I had figured out that timeline-wise Peter would have his first Christmas without Ben after the events of Homecoming, I couldn't get it out of my head. _

_What do you think?_

_Thanks for reading as always -Quin_


End file.
